Sometimes stats can be misleading. Sometimes stats can lie. And if coaches aren’t smart, bad stats can lead them in the wrong direction.

There is a long list of flawed baseball statistics that coaches and baseball fans alike care too much about. But today we’re going to talk specifically about the issues surrounding the defensive error.

In this post, I’m going to break down why the defensive error is a flawed baseball statistic — especially for the youth game. That flaw can lead to poor evaluations of both hitters and fielders.

Additionally, I am going to share an experiment that I’ll be running this fall to approach defensive proficiency in a new way.

Defensive Error Flaw #1: Subjectivity

This is a big, big issue. While what is and isn’t an error may have less disagreement in professional baseball, it is rarely a consensus in the youth game.

What is and isn’t an error will often differ based on the scorer or based on the coach. Sometimes it will differ based on the player who hit the ball, fielded the ball or on the mound (due to bias).

Ultimately, the definition of an error is a defensive play that, with normal effort, should have resulted in an out. But the problem is determining what exactly is “normal effort.”

At the lower levels, a high percentage of ground balls hit to the left side of the infield will result in the batter reaching first safely. As players get older and the competition increases, this percentage increases.

But at what point do we determine a play “should” have been made? Is it when that exact play will be made nine of 10 times by players at that level? Or is it eight of 10? Or seven?

Too much subjectivity comes into play here. One scorer may call seven errors in a game while another will call zero. This, of course, will drastically alter the way performances are viewed.

Defensive Error Flaw #2: Weak Hits, Hard Outs and ROE

If the ball is put into play, good things can happen. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t.

Sometimes the ball is hit poorly. Some of those poorly struck balls will find a hole and result in a hit. Some will be played and result in an out.

Sometimes the ball is hit hard. Some of those well hit balls result in a hit. Sometimes they will be hit right at a defender and result in an out. Fewer should result in an out than the poorly hit baseballs, of course.

But we recognize that the results aren’t always fair. Whether the ball is hit hard does not always directly correlate to a hit.

Then we bring in the error. The batter hits the ball — often, but not always, poorly. It is hit to a defender who possibly “should” make the play. He does not. The batter reaches base safely.

In the box score, this batter recorded an out. They do not get credit for reaching base, other than under the ROE statistic (this does not increase AVG or OBP). But a hit is not “earned” even though the skill needed to reach base was little different than reaching via a poorly struck ball that found a hole.

The thought behind the batter not earning the hit is that the fielder “gave” him the base. But is this really true, particularly in youth baseball?

If a ground ball is hit to the first baseman or a popup to the pitcher, the batter has a choice. He can drop his head and jog slowly to first. If he does, the fielder has more time to fail and recover, still recording an out.

A good baseball player will acknowledge that hitting the ball in play gives them a chance. He will immediately sprint to first base, putting more pressure on the defense to make a clean play. If they fail to make a clean play — which happens frequently — the batter will benefit due to his hustle.

Here’s the bottom line: In youth baseball, if you put the ball in play, good things often happen. By giving the batter an out in the box score, we aren’t acknowledging that they 1) put the ball in play, and 2) hustled to reach base.

Sound baseball players who frequently put the ball in play and consistently hustle will reach base via an “error” far more frequently than bad baseball players who fail to put the ball in play or don’t hustle. We need to account for this.

But in the box score, the two both achieved an out while one reached safely.

Defensive Error Flaw #3: Range

This is a big problem when determining defensive prowess. When comparing the defensive skills of two players, we often look first at errors and fielding percentage. But this is hugely flawed due to the issue of range.

One player has terrible range. If you don’t hit a ball within five feet of him, he won’t get it. As a result, he converts very few outs. He also will have very few errors because he doesn’t get to enough baseballs to boot or throw them away.

Another player has exceptional range. He will get to baseballs no other player can. He is quick and anticipates where the ball is going. He gets to the baseball effortlessly when others would struggle to get there.

The player with exceptional range will then get to far more baseballs than the player with good range. While he’ll have more opportunities to convert outs, he’ll have far more opportunities to make errors as well.

Assuming these two very different players played the same position, one would never get to a ball or make the play look difficult (no error) while the other would get there easily, increasing the likelihood of an out or an error.

Experiment: Offense

Lately, I’ve been keeping a closer eye on the ROE column in offensive statistics. This is a column we tend to ignore, but I feel that’s a big mistake.

If the batter put the ball in play and hustled to reach base safely, I want to acknowledge that. At minimum, it’s no worse than a poorly struck ball that found a hole — or was hit in the vicinity of a fielder with poor range.

So now I’m going back to look at which batters reached via the error most often. Over and over again, I’m finding it tends to be my better hitters — those who routinely put the ball in play and keep pressure on the defense by hustling to first.

This coming fall, I am going to instruct our scorekeeper to no longer score errors for our batters. If they put the ball in play and did what they needed to do to reach base safely, they should be rewarded.

No more subjectivity.

Experiment: Defense

I know what you’re thinking: “That’s great, but how are you going to measure the performance of your team defensively?”

Once again, we’re going to do things a bit more creatively this fall.

As noted, range is a major contributor to whether or not an out can be recorded or an error called. A player with great range should be rewarded, not punished.

I am putting together a spreadsheet that a designated defensive scorer will keep for me. That scorer will chart where the ball was hit and whether an out was recorded.

Of course, it’s much more complicated than that. We’ll separate the field into zone responsibilities based on position.

Here are my goals of this exercise:

Find out the percentage of balls hit to a zone that were fielded

Find out the percentage of balls hit to a zone that resulted in an out

Find out the average number of bases by a hitter based on zone fielded

Find out the average number of bases runners advanced based on zone fielded

Find out the percentage of balls fielded by a player outside of his zone

Compare players by zone to find those who reach the most baseballs

Compare players by zone to find those who convert the most outs

Compare players by zone to find those who prevent the fewest bases advanced

To accomplish these goals, we’ll chart the following…

Zone Details:

What zone did the ball pass through?

What player owns the zone where it went through?

In what zone was the ball recovered?

What player owns the zone where the ball was recovered?

Which player recovered the ball?

What zone does the player who recovered the ball own?

The thought here is to first understand how many baseballs passed through a second baseman’s zone, for example (low liners or ground balls). We don’t expect that a second baseman will field 100% of these opportunities, but we want to see who fields the highest percentage (has the greatest range).

Additionally, this will help us see which players go outside of their own zone to field a ball (again, a sign of good range) while also noting which player therefore failed to recover it in their own zone (a sign of bad range).

I don’t expect this to be perfect in small sample sizes — there are always exceptions and strange plays — but over the course of the season it should give us a clearer picture of range.

Hit Details:

Foul (in the field of play) or fair

Hard, medium or soft velocity

Ground ball, line drive, popup or fly ball

Understand that there is some minimal subjectivity here, but the data is still valuable.

One would think that a high number of popups hit into an infielder’s zone should be recorded for an out. Are they?

Additionally, we’ll look at soft grounders to the first baseman’s zone differently than line drives. What percentage of these hits are recorded as outs?

These will help us separate the tougher plays from the easier ones when comparing results.

Runner and Hitter Details:

Hitter base when at bat concludes

Was the hitter out or safe?

Runner 1 base before hit and after hit

Runner 2 base before hit and after hit

Runner 3 base before hit and after hit

This can get complicated in a hurry, but the idea here is that we’re now looking at more than just range, but efficiency. A left fielder may have recovered the ball in their zone, but how many bases did the runners advance, and how does that compare to other left fielders?

A defensive player has many jobs. They need to recover the ball and convert out. But they also need to limit the number of bases advanced, and this is something that is rarely — if ever — measured or reported.

Throw Details:

Throw to what base?

Who received the throw?

Was the throw caught cleanly?

Was the batter or runner retired?

It’s good that a fielder recovered the ball, but were they able to convert the out? And if not, whose responsibility was it?

This can give us an idea of arm strength, for example. If a third baseman routinely fields the ball cleanly and makes throws that are caught cleanly but don’t result in outs, it may give us an indication of poor arm strength.

But the first baseman may also contribute. If a low number of balls thrown to first base result in an out — caught cleanly or otherwise — it may tell us that the first baseman may not do a good job of helping his fielders.

Experiment: Defense (Other Thoughts)

As you can see, this may be a complicated experiment. We may not chart all of these things, but each action — as well as others — need to be considered.

I want this to be as simple as possible while providing valuable insight. It’s possible we may trim this down to be much more basic.

How many times was a ball hit to your zone? How many times was an out recorded?

These things alone could still be hugely valuable — and certainly more valuable than recording the subjective “error.”

Your Turn

What do you think of the defensive error? How do you score it? And what do you think of taking a more creative approach to it?

A little less than a month since launching this website, one thing is very clear: Parents perceive that “Daddy Ball” is a very real problem.

Daddy Ball — when a baseball dad who coaches his kid appears to give that player preferential treatment — is the number one complaint among parents. The coaches’ kids (head and assistant coaches) get the most playing time, play the preferred positions and get all of the glory — often when it isn’t deserved.

At least, that is the consistent complaint.

As a baseball dad who coaches his sons, I’m hoping to shed some light on this from the other perspective.

The following is fictional, but some is certainly inspired by and drawn from my own experiences…

A Late Night

Your coach couldn’t sleep last night. He was nervous about the upcoming tournament, unsure of the perfect combination that would lead his team to victory.

He researched the pool play opponents to determine which would be most likely to put up a fight. He mapped out his pitching to use just enough to win without putting himself in a bind the next day.

He scoured the stats for the 10th time this week. He’s keeping an eye on which players are hitting and how that will impact his order. He’s also taken a second look at the past tournament to see which players are trending up or down.

He thinks he knows what he’s going to do. He’s created his lineups in Excel. He’s planned out every inning of each game for tomorrow — even though he knows things are bound to change. He’s created alternate lineups, too, because he’s prepared for certain things. Even blank lineups in case everything blows up.

Your coach wants to carefully balance giving kids opportunities with putting kids in position to succeed. He also wants to reward the kids who have put in the extra work and earned their time.

He moves kids around, but not to the point where they are uncomfortable or unprepared. Most players have two positions they focus on most. They learn those positions inside and out.

While there is a lineup that is most likely to succeed, he’s also sensitive to the stigma of hitting last or starting the game on the bench. So he does his best to mix that up. He has a rotation of four kids who take turns batting last, and the same kid will never start consecutive games on the bench.

His primary lineup has his son hitting third and playing shortstop. He agonizes over this. He trusts his son and he knows he’s earned it. The stats back it up. But he also sees the looks and hears the whispers.

He knows you think your son is better than his own. He hears you murmuring to the other dads even though you think he doesn’t. He sees the look on your face when his son comes to the mound to pitch.

You don’t attend all of the practices, and you’ve missed a handful of games. Your coach understands this. But you don’t see everything.

You don’t see that your son misses signs. You don’t see that your son jokes around at the worst possible times. You don’t see that your son’s focus is on his stats and not the team’s success. You don’t see your son drop his head and throw his bat after a strikeout.

Or you make excuses for it. “That’s just the way he is,” you say. “He’s a passionate kid, and he can’t stand to lose.”

An Early Morning

Your coach didn’t get much work done today. He needs to be sure he has everything ready before the one-hour drive to the game. And since he’s the coach, he needs to be sure he’s early.

The thing is, that’s not the only thing that keeps him from working. He’s naturally distracted. He loves coaching, but it’s a full-time job — that gets no pay, of course.

Your coach’s performance at work suffers. He knows business won’t be as good during baseball season. He rejects requests to travel because of his commitment to the team. But he knows that’s the sacrifice, and he wouldn’t change it for the world.

He’s often taking phone calls, texting or responding to emails during work hours about his baseball team. He leaves work early to get to practice 15 minutes before you do. He turns down weekend hours because of games.

He woke up tired because of a late night. He immediately scanned his email to find a long list of work requests and problems he needs to take care of. A customer isn’t happy. The boss may not be, too.

Of course, there’s also an email from a parent letting him know that her son won’t be at the tournament today. Forgot to tell him. Sorry.

Time to change the lineups…

Your coach then starts a group text with his assistants, strategizing on how best to adjust the lineups. The kid your coach will now be missing was slated to be one of your pitchers today.

Your coach sends a text to his older son, wishing him good luck in his game tonight. With multiple kids playing baseball, this is a common occurrence. He is left playing favorites for the son he coaches, missing out on the joy of watching his other son play.

He hopes that his older son understands. His mother will be there with him. She’s been the older son’s companion at all of his games. Unfortunately, that also means that she misses most of their younger son’s games.

He thinks about this. He thinks about the appreciation he has for his wife for keeping everything together during the summer. Every day there’s a practice or a game. There’s almost always a meal on the table. She’s making sure the boys are sunscreened, fed, equipped and have their supply of water and sunflower seeds.

And she deals with his mood swings that are reserved for this time of the year. Angry parents. A kid who won’t respond to direction. A bad losing streak. She doesn’t like it, but she handles it like a champ.

Your coach grimaces because he also knows that his wife’s birthday is only three days away. He’s done nothing for her. He’s not sure when he will or what he’ll do. He hates that their relationship takes a back seat during baseball season. While he isn’t proud of it, he thinks she understands.

A Pleasant Drive

Your coach leaves a meeting early so that he can go home, pick up his son and head for the tournament. They load up the car with three buckets of baseballs, two bags, a hitting screen, his son’s bag and a cooler. They then throw on their baseball playlist — a ritual that they share out of pleasure and superstition.

Your coach and his son chat about the tournament — the teams they are facing and what to be prepared for. His son is reminded to be selectively aggressive at the plate — hoping to avoid a repeat performance of a strike three call in the previous game.

His son is also reminded to be a good leader. To be vocal. To help a struggling player who is slumping. His son nods and smiles.

Your coach cherishes these moments almost as much as the games. His son does, too.

Warming Up Early

Your coach likes to get to practices and games early, well before anyone else. He likes the message it sends, but there’s also a personal reason for this.

As soon as the team arrives, he is a coach to all of the players. Prior to that moment, he is a dad.

Your coach and his son carry the equipment to their dugout. They always choose the first base dugout out of preference. Or maybe superstition. He likes coaching the base that is closest to the dugout to talk to the players before they walk to the plate.

“Grab a ball.”

After they get settled, your coach grabs his glove that he’s had since high school. His son knows what this means, and they head out into the outfield for a catch.

They talk a little, but they mostly just enjoy the quiet.

Glove foot forward. Catch it out in front, preferably on the throwing hand side. Step and throw. Reset quickly. Repeat.

As he makes another throw, your coach feels the buzz of his phone. Another work email. Rumors of downsizing coming.

Glove foot forward. Catch it out in front, preferably on the throwing hand side. Step and throw. Reset quickly. Repeat.

The Game

The players show up, some early and some late. You show up late because of a work commitment. Your son joins his teammates five minutes into their pregame ritual.

You don’t like being late, but there are some days you just can’t leave early. Not everyone has the flexibility your coach has with his schedule. Certainly he understands.

If not, screw that guy.

The game goes largely accordingly to your coach’s plans, of course with some exceptions. The starting pitcher struggled a little, so he was pulled an inning early. The left fielder writhed in agony after tripping at first base on a groundout — a ritual for that player when things go wrong, making it difficult to know when he’s truly hurt. So he sat an inning he wasn’t supposed to sit.

It’s a hard fought game. In the bottom of the sixth, your coach turns to his son to close it out. You roll your eyes toward a couple of dads along the fence. They return a similar reaction.

The first batter strikes out. The second drops a bloop hit to right and promptly steals second. The third walks. The fourth pops out to first base.

Your coach is a coach to all of these kids. But he feels the stress through his son. He doesn’t want to make him more nervous, so with the other team’s best hitter at the plate, he calls time and has an assistant talk to him.

You, like many parents, think your coach loves these moments. Giving his son the glory.

The truth is it eats him up inside. He wants him to succeed. He wants to share the big moments with his son. But he also can’t stand to see the pain when he fails.

As the coach, he also knows that he puts his son in this position. So when the deep depression of failure sets in for his son, he can’t help but feel responsible.

With each pitch, the pressure mounts. An 0-2 count goes full, the third ball on a borderline pitch. That big power hitter then drives a double into the gap in right center that scores two runs.

Game over.

You turn and shout to yourself in anger. You know that your son would have iced the game. He’s always done well — at least when his teammates aren’t making errors in the field.

If only you could be the coach. You never would have let this happen.

You can’t be the coach, of course. There’s just no way with your workload. You just don’t have the time. Your coach has asked you to help in the past, but you declined.

If you were the coach, though, the coach’s kid would play in the outfield and hit seventh. You’d push all of the right buttons. This team would never have lost that game or a handful of others.

You can’t coach, of course. But if you could…

The Drive Home

It’s a silent drive. Your coach replays every important moment of that game in his head. Of course, the one moment he sees most often is the final pitch.

The look on his son’s face as the final run scored. The tears that welled up in his son’s eyes as he walked back to the dugout — alone — as teammates dropped to the ground. Tears, too, welled up in your coach’s eyes.

He couldn’t help but feel responsible. Maybe he could have made a substitution earlier that would have padded the lead. Maybe he should have walked that batter. Maybe he should have had your son pitch.

He reassures his son, but he’s mainly mumbling to himself. He apologizes for putting him in that position. For not doing more.

A Coach’s Awareness of Preferential Treatment

I can tell you first hand that coaching your own son complicates things. I know my son more than yours. I talk to and prepare him before and after games and practices. Some advantages are inherently there.

But there are disadvantages, too. I’m more critical of my own sons. I fear high pressure situations for them.

I’m also keenly aware of and sensitive to the potential perception of preferential treatment. I’ve consciously benched or moved down my son to prove that no such treatment exists.

It’s a tough balance. I feel that a coach’s son can suffer as much as reap rewards for his relationship to the coach. I expect more from my son, so the disappointment when he doesn’t fulfill his responsibilities is greater. And his reaction to his disappointed father/coach will always be different than to an unrelated coach.

I love coaching my sons. But it has its disadvantages, too.

However, I also know how powerless I feel when I’m not coaching. I understand why parents feel powerless when they aren’t making the decisions. We always think we would have done something differently or better. We always think our child isn’t being given a proper shake.

That is one of the reasons I coach. I love coaching. The experiences of coaching my sons and the bonds we share can’t be replaced. But it also has to do with having some control over the situation.

I can’t complain about the role my kid serves when I’m the coach.

I understand, though, that I also need to accept that I have no control when I choose not to coach. I appreciate the challenges that coach faces. I won’t always be happy about the decisions made. But it was my choice not to coach, so I don’t make those decisions.

If you can do better, coach. If you can’t be the head coach, contribute what you can as an assistant.

If you choose not to coach, accept the decisions that are made. Try to understand the complexities the coach faces of coaching his own son. Appreciate the commitment and sacrifices your coach makes.

Every player, sooner or later, will run into a long hitting slump. It happens to youth players as well as Hall of Fame professionals. In fact, we know players can expect to run into multiple slumps throughout their careers — if not a single season!

Some of this is due to luck. Much of it comes down to remaining positive and continuing to utilize a good approach. But slumps happen due to things both within and outside of the player’s control.

There are several things that a young player can do to limit, end or avoid extended hitting slumps. Let’s take a closer look…

1. Remember: It’s Process Over Results!

Young players can get down on themselves quickly if they focus too much on stats — particularly in small sample sizes. We often praise a player for going 4-for-4, so it’s only natural that a player will feel like he let his team down if he went 0-for-4.

The truth is that these stats sometimes lie. One batter could have hit four perfectly placed dribblers for hits. Another could have hit four line shots right at an outfielder. But we often treat them differently.

A bad process can lead to good results in small sample sizes. Similarly, a good process will sometimes lead to bad results over a span of a game or a few games.

But over the course of a season, a good process will always win out. The player with the superior swing and strike zone recognition — if maintained throughout the season — will ultimately outhit the player with the inferior swing and bad strike zone recognition.

It’s important to reinforce this — to not pay too much attention to short term results, particularly when they are bad. If the process is good, remind the player of this and praise them for the effort.

Something I like to tell my players after a hard hit out: If you’re mad and emotional about this result, what do you do when a bloop hit falls in? Do you tell the umpire it should be an out?

Ultimately, it all evens out. Good process will lead to more sustained good results over a long season.

2. Worry About What’s Within Your Control

Sometimes the opposition makes an amazing defensive play. Sometimes the umpire makes a bad call. Sometimes you’re just hit with a bout of dumb luck.

We can’t get down when these things happen. All are outside of our control. Stressing over things that are outside of our control is pointless and will only make things worse.

A player who has a good process, is getting bad results and then gets down on himself for these bad results can lead himself into a deeper slump — bringing on bad process and more bad results.

During this time, it’s important that we help young players focus only on what remains within their control. Know the situation. Swing at good pitches. Remain positive.

If the other team made a good play, respect and acknowledge it. If the umpire made a bad call, brush it off and realize you did what you could.

3. Hustle at All Times

One of the best ways to avoid prolonged slumps is by hustling at all times. This needs to be a priority.

Unfortunately, slumping players often do the opposite. They immediately drop their head when they’ve hit another pop-up or a ground ball to the right side of the infield. Their luck has been bad, and they just assume it’s going to continue.

By hustling at all times, they keep the pressure on the defense. That extra step can be the difference between a hit and an out, and it also can be the difference between a depressed player and a player with newfound confidence.

4. Stay Selectively Aggressive

A slumping player will often respond in one of two counterproductive ways:

They’ll get passive at the plate

They’ll get anxious at the plate

A slumping player will suddenly think they are better off walking. Their confidence is low, and they’ll take pitches they normally wouldn’t. This only prolongs the slump. They need to hit out of it, but only by continuing to swing at strikes.

A slumping player may also get anxious at the plate. In their attempt to hit out of it, they’ll begin swinging at pitches they normally wouldn’t. Again, this only makes it worse. They’ll miss more pitches, and when they do put the ball in play it will result in frequent poor contact.

Regardless of whether a batter is on a hot streak or in a slump, they must continue to be selectively aggressive. They should attack anything they can handle within the strike zone and avoid swinging at anything outside of it.

5. Watch Video of At Bats

Sometimes, a slump isn’t due to bad luck. Sometimes it’s because the player has a mechanical flaw in his swing.

These things are not always easy to catch in real time. Make sure that there is plenty of video available of the player. Take a look at video when the player was hitting well and compare it to when the player was in his slump.

Is there a difference? Is there something that needs to be corrected? Show it to him so that he sees the flaw and what needs to be fixed.

Be aware of trends like consistently popping up, hitting soft grounders, pulling the ball too often or hitting everything softly to the opposite field.

6. Get Reps

Reinforce good habits! If something needs to be fixed, correct it with reps using the proper approach.

If everything is fine mechanically, reps still help. Whether it’s soft toss, tee work, live pitching or batting practice, get plenty of reps to improve muscle memory and confidence.

7. STAY POSITIVE!

The single biggest reason a player will fall into a prolonged slump is a drop in confidence. Do all you can to prevent this!

Remind the player that his frame of mind impacts his performance. That a lack of confidence will almost always lead to poor results. And that confidence can change everything.

Remind him that he’s a good hitter, that this is something that every great hitter goes through. That the process is good, but process doesn’t always lead to results. By staying positive and continuing to take a good approach, things will turn around!

Be conscious of a slumping player who is losing confidence. As a coach or parent, provide some additional attention and support to that player to help keep them thinking positively.

Hitting Slumps: Your Turn

Anything else you’d add to this list? How else can a young player avoid long hitting slumps?

The game of baseball is littered with traditions. Some of those traditions apply to simple things like the structure of a lineup. We see this even at the youth level.

We expect it to work out something like this:

Fastest Player

Fast Contact Hitter

Best Hitter

Power Hitter

Next Best Power Hitter

etc.

The truth is that this is an outdated approach — particularly for youth baseball.

While many models show that the order doesn’t make as much of an impact as you may think, the order that does tend to lead to the most runs usually looks nothing like this. Instead, it stacks your best hitters at the top of the order, giving them the most plate appearances.

You may not notice the difference in one game, but over the course of the season those extra plate appearances will lead to more runs and potentially more wins.

That said, it may not be as easy as simply batting your players in order of hitting ability. There are several other factors that you should consider.

Here are the six factors that I look at when assembling a lineup that will lead to the most runs — and hopefully wins…

1. On Base Percentage

Most lineup models that result in the most runs point to On Base Percentage being the most important factor. However, that’s likely true more for professional baseball than it is for the youth game.

On Base Percentage is absolutely important, don’t get me wrong. However, youth baseball typically sees more walks — and more kids who can find some success by being overly selective to the point that it appears they are looking for a walk.

If you construct an order based only on On Base Percentage, you’re bound to put a kid who rarely swings higher in the order than he should be. And ultimately, this approach would then only work against pitchers who don’t throw a ton of strikes. That hitter would hurt you against strike throwers.

Bottom line here is that the ability to get on base is a huge factor when assembling my lineup, but with a caveat. The player needs to do more than walk.

2. Batting Average

As I said above, a batter’s On Base Percentage can be a bad measuring stick in youth baseball since some kids who rarely swing can have reasonable success — but not against good pitching. That’s why Batting Average also needs to come into play.

A player’s batting average is going to be helped by speed and an ability to make solid contact. When fast youth players put the ball in play — particularly when they hit it hard — they will get on base at a high rate.

So when I’m crafting my lineup, it’s the kids who both hit and get on base frequently who are near the top; those who can’t are near the bottom.

3. Slugging Percentage

I have no issues whatsoever with batting my most powerful hitter first. If he also gets on base frequently, gets hits, has good speed and makes good contact, it can be a huge benefit having such a hitter get the most plate appearances all season.

Now, the counter argument is that this player will then lose RBI opportunities. However, he will also be giving the players behind him greater RBI potential by getting more plate appearances and getting on base more often.

Additionally, the “bad” hitters in youth baseball still tend to get on base at a pretty good rate. So unlike in the pro game, the leadoff hitter in youth baseball is still likely to come up with runners on base.

4. OPS

While imperfect, OPS (On Base Percentage + Slugging) may be the best measure for overall hitting ability. Not only does this person get on base and hit the ball, they frequently hit for extra bases.

OPS is a good separator when determining which of two similar players hits first.

5. Strikeouts

I’m actually not anti-strikeout overall. In pro ball, those who strikeout the most are often those who bring the most reward — or at least the best hitters are rarely those who almost never strikeout. But that’s not typically the case in youth baseball.

In youth baseball, striking out a lot tends to be a sign of being overmatched. Similar to how some batters will succeed via the walk against weaker competition, a high strikeout total from a player with good stats otherwise is a sign that a batter may hit well against the weak competition but not against the better pitchers.

Batters who rarely strikeout are dependable — you know that they can put the bat on the ball, regardless of the opposition. As a result, I tend to favor them at the top of the order.

6. Speed

Most models when determining ideal batting order for the pro game ignore speed. However, it’s so important to the youth game that it needs to be part of this discussion.

No, I’m not saying your fastest kid needs to bat first or second. Your fastest player may not be a good hitter, so it would be bad to give such a player extra plate appearances. Instead, it’s a bonus if your best hitters are also fast.

Unfortunately, I’ve seen this far too often. A kid is fast, so the coach thinks he’s the “ideal” leadoff hitter. In reality, the only thing that is ideal is his speed. But if he can’t get on base to begin with, he’s not a good leadoff hitter.

Beyond leadoff, though, speed and baserunning ability are things to consider when ordering similar players throughout the lineup. Let’s consider three batters with equal hitting ability, but different baserunning skills.

Player A: Slowest Player

Player B: Second Slowest Player

Player C: Fastest Player

It would make no sense to put these players in this order. If Player A and Player B are as likely to get on base as Player C, that also means that they will often be on second base when Player C is on first. This plugs up the bases for your fastest player, making him one dimensional.

When you have players of similar hitting ability, I always try to bat the fastest one first — particularly if there’s a big difference. That allows the fast player to be the weapon that he is.

Speed from players who get on frequently leads to runs, particularly in the youth game. Passed balls, wild pitches, stolen bases, aggressive running and taking extra bases at a higher rate. A lack of speed often results in stranded runners and frustration.

The last thing you want is limiting your speed by having a slower runner preventing your fast runner from taking those extra bases.

Your Turn

What other factors do you consider when assembling the ultimate lineup?

This is a post I’ve considered writing since the site was launched, but I’ve held off because I know the topic can be so controversial. Discussing the decision to bunt is a lot like discussing politics or religion. One side feels very strongly one way, and the other side is 100% sure they’re wrong.

The bunt has been a big part of the game for a long, long time. However, there is an anti-bunt movement starting in Sabermetrics that is now spilling down to youth baseball. There are strong opinions supporting both sides.

Let me be up front with you: I am strongly anti-bunt. I don’t even have a bunt sign. I laugh when my opponent bunts because it almost never works — or it doesn’t have the impact they think it has.

Sports are littered with outdated strategies that are simply accepted as being best practice without questioning why. Choosing to be home or visitor was one I covered recently. Bunting is another.

For the pro-bunt crowd, let me quickly respond: I know. Bunts work sometimes. Some teams are bunt-heavy and are successful. Sometimes it even makes sense to bunt.

Wasted Strikes

I know there are some good bunting teams and players out there, but I rarely see them. Instead, I see more failed bunt attempts than I can count.

A batter comes up with a runner on with no outs, so the coach wants to move him over. The batter bunts the first pitch. Foul. Bunts the second pitch. Foul. Then strikes out or has to protect the plate and swings at a bad pitch and results in a weak out.

Strikes are valuable. It’s why I preach selective aggression — you only get three good pitches to swing at (plus fouls), so every wasted strike is a wasted opportunity, putting the batter in a worse position.

Bunting Bad Pitches

At the youth level, one of a coach’s challenges is getting kids to swing only at strikes. The high pitch is enticing, but they need to lay off. Some kids love the ball in the dirt.

When bunting, the batter has a completely different perspective. As a result, I tend to see a high percentage of bunt attempts at pitches that need to be taken. Some kids simply get into the frame of mind that if they got the bunt sign they need to bunt this pitch.

If they are bunting (and likely fouling) a pitch they wouldn’t normally swing at, they are putting themselves into a worse count than they would have been in normally.

Wasting At Bats and Giving Away Outs

My son’s 11-year-old team has an OBP of .505 as a team. As 10s, it was .525. That means that the average kid gets on base more than half of the time. The rest of the time will be a combination of strikeouts, flyouts, lineouts, groundouts and popouts.

On Base Percentage will go down as a group as kids get older, the fielding improves and the bases get longer. But probability of getting on base by swinging away will remain quite good.

While a bunt attempt doesn’t guarantee an out, it results in one far more often than when kids are swinging away. And even when a kid swinging away doesn’t get on base, it often has the same result (moving the runner over) that the coach wanted when bunting.

So when a coach attempts to give me an out, I thank him. It makes my job easier.

Something I see far too often is teams having a designated bunter (or a player who bunts a lot) batting second in the lineup. They have a kid whose sole responsibility is to bunt for a hit or bunt the runners over.

Nearly every time to the plate.

This is such a waste. By doing this, you are giving an inferior hitter (who undoubtedly gets on base less often and has fewer extra base hits) more plate appearances than a superior hitter. You may not notice the impact in a single game, but over the course of a season this will limit your runs.

Keep in mind that at the youth level, getting on base is pretty darn easy — especially for the best hitters. In many cases, the best hitters don’t need runners to be moved up a base to get them home. There’s a high probability for an extra base hit anyway.

Now, if you are my opponent and you have a designated bunter hitting second, I thank you. I’d much rather face that kid than your best hitter anyway. And I’d also prefer to face your best hitters with more outs on the board.

Stolen Bases

This is probably my biggest issue with the bunt. There are just so many ways that a runner can move up without it.

The younger ages that have leadoffs can steal successfully close to 100% of the time. As they get older, that percentage begins to drop. Still, kids will continue to steal successfully at a very high rate.

It kills me when I see a team bunting that has a fast kid on the bases. The odds of moving him up with a steal are higher than moving him up with a bunt in that case.

The bunt requires that the player put the ball in play and put it down properly. More moving parts than the steal.

Passed Balls and Wild Pitches

I’ve seen this scenario far too often. A batter is up with a runner on first and no outs. The batter lays down a bunt on the first pitch, the runner move up to second and the batter is retired.

The coaches praise the batter for an amazing job of bunting.

With the very next batter at the plate, a wild pitch is thrown. Or a passed ball.

Do the coaches who were praising the bunt see what just happened? That had they not bunted, the runner would have moved up anyway?

I’m not saying that a wild pitch or passed ball is going to happen with every batter. But combined with a stolen base, there are so many ways runners can move up without bunting that it’s too conservative and unnecessary.

Limiting Potential

Let’s say you have a good bunter. He moves the runner over. Or maybe he even reaches safely. That’s great, but there are a couple of things to consider here when comparing potential when bunting or swinging away.

First, as discussed earlier there is a high potential for failure. Fouled bunts will lead to bad at bats or strikeouts. The batter may not even get the ball down in the first place. Or it may not go as planned — forcing a runner out.

Second, a “successful” bunt simply has a low ceiling for the best possible outcome. The most likely scenario is that an out occurs. If the runner gets on, maybe everyone is safe. Further down the list of possibilities is that the ball is thrown around and the batter advances beyond first.

But if the batter swings away, the entire book of possibilities is open. He may walk. He may get a single that moves runners beyond one base. He may get a double, triple or home run. He may get an out that advances the runners anyway. And he may hit into an out that doesn’t.

The main point here is that the options are more — and the potential greater — for swinging away. By bunting, you’re playing for a single run. By swinging away, you’re playing for a big inning.

I often shake my head when I see one of a team’s better hitters bunting. The disparity in potential between bunting and swinging away grows for those better hitters. You just took what was a high potential big inning and made it a low potential big inning by having that good hitter give himself up.

Wasting Reps

There are some great bunting teams out there. There are some great bunting players, too. In each case, they may make the anti-bunt stance look silly.

But I’d argue that such teams — even the successful ones — are limiting their potential. In order to become great bunters, they need to practice a high number of reps.

These reps spent on bunting could have been spent on hitting. Or pitching. Or fielding. Each of these things have a high impact on the game on every single play.

I prefer to maximize the number of reps for these core activities while maximizing potential.

I’m Sure There Are Exceptions

I know some will say that Team X is an amazing bunting team or that Tommy Jones hits .600 while being mainly a bunter.

Exceptions don’t prove a point. They are exceptions.

Still, I can’t help but wonder how good Team X would be if they instead swung away — and dedicated those bunting reps to something else. Or how good Tommy could be if instead of bunt outs and singles he were hitting singles, doubles, triples and homers that moved the runners further along the bases.